Compensating for torpedoes discharged from submarine boats.



L. Y. SPEAR. GOMPENSATING FOR PORPEDOES DISGHARGED FROM SUBM ARINE B0 ATS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27, 1910. RENEWED APR. 25, 1911.

Patented July 11, 1911.

re L LAWRENCE Y. SPEAR, F QUIlINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, fiatflSIfitlYOR. TO ELECTRIC BOAT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEXV COMPENSATING FOR TORPEDOES DIS CHARGED 3116M SUBMARINE BOATS.

Specification of Application filed June 27, 1910, Serial No. 569 012. Renewed April 25, 1911.

- Quincy, county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Compensatmg for Torpedoes Dlscharged from Submarine Boats;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full clear, and exact description of the invention, such will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of the invent-ion is to Provide for maintaining the trim of a submarine ora as submersible torpedo boat asthe torpedoes,

are tired therefrom. That is, it aims tocompensate for the disturbance in the trim which would ordinarily result from moving the torpedoes from their storage racks to the torpedo tube and from discharging the torpedoes from the vessel through the tube.

As is well known, the principal armament of war vessels of the sulnnarine or submer- .sible type consists jot authmobile torpedoes and means for carrying and firing the same. The torpedoes are sometimes carried in firing tubes or other apparatus exterior to the hull proper. The preferred and more usual way is tofit the vessel with internal torpedo-discharge tubes, usually in the bow and sometimes also in the stern. The outer ends'ot such'tubes, when the cap is open,

communicate Wit-h the Water of flotation,

while the inner ends are provided with breech caps opening into the interior of the boat, so that the torpedoes may be loaded into the tubes from the interior of the boat,

' and may be discharged from the tubes; or

may be withdrawn from the tubes into the interior of the boat. As the number of tubes which may be carried in a given size of boat is limited,'it is very desirable that arrangements should be made to permit the firing of two or more torpedoes successively from the same tube; and in order-that this opera tion 11 ay not interfere with the control and navigation of t 1e vessel submerged, it

necessary to accomplish it without material change in the total. weight of the vessel or in the position of its center of gravity, the vessel here being considered, of course, as including the full complement of torpedoes. In other words, it is necessary to compensate for the weight ot torpedoes ejected and also I for the inclining moment which is produced Letters Patent.

Patented July I serial The. 623,317.

by moving a torpedo from its storage or loading position into the tube.

In some classes of submarine vessels. the inherent conditions as to stability. permissible fore andaft inclination, and so on, only be such as require a very exact cmn 'iensation, and means have already been devised for securing it, the best known 'ot which is that in patent to J. P. Holland, No. ('ld-lslllll g nted September 34, 1901. it will be noted. ho vever that in this arrangement as well as in the known improvements of it, such. tor instance, as are disclosed in the patent i. and hi) me, No. 778,339, and the patent i. nod -.to Frank T.- Cable, No. Tlllfiil) under date of December 27, 1904, certain tanks of cousiderable volume are required to be located in close proximity to the torpedo tube, and in close proximity to the storage position or the torpedo which is to be loaded. In fact. these so-called compensatingtanks have to be located so that their centers of gravity are in or near the same vertical planes as the centers of gravity of the tube or the torpedoes which they are intended lo cmupeusate, and each compensating tank occupies lit-least the same space as a torpedo would occupy. Moreover, piping connectionsof considerable size must be installed in order to load the torpedo. quickly. since a considerable volume of water (in weight equal to the torpedo) has to be transferred from a forward tank to an after tank locompeu sate for the movement ot' the torpedo due to loading. As is well known. space in submarine vessels is limited and valuable. hence. it the desired colupensation can be obtained Without installing the couuwusating tanks above referred to, considerable llll|' l'(l\'(l!l(lli results. For cxamplqtlur number of low pedoes carried in a boat nnry be inrrcasrd r the space may be otherwise resume. in :u-- eordance with my invention this: :luuprnmh tion is brought about without those. zuldiacter to emphasize the parts to which my invention relates. Fig. 2 is a similar sectionon a larger scale of the parts in the. bow of the vesseland showing the torpedo into the discharge tube.

It will be noted the drawings show a moved single tube fitted in the bow, and a single spare torpedo. The invention, however, is

equally applicable to a vessel having a plurali'ty of tubes locatedeither in the bow or in the stern, and carrying a plurality of spare torpedoes which are to be fired in successio'n from one or from a plurality of tubes. It is customary and usual to fitin such vessels ballast tankscalled trimming tanks, located at or near the bow and stern respectively. The ordinary function of these tanks is to bring the vesselto the desired fore and aft trim for submerg'ence by partially or wholly filling thetanks, or either of'them, with the water of flotation as may in the bow and stern the usual trimming be required bythe conditions. The trimming tanks are for this purpose provided with valves bywhich they may be put into communication with the water of flotation, and with supply connections leading to the compressed air reservoin These tanks are evidently in close proximity to the torpedo tubes, which are always arranged either in the bow or in the stern.

' The usual arrangement forward and aft is that shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, but I do not limit myself to that exact arrangement as the invention is applicable to other and different arrangenientswhich may be employed.

The hull of the boat is indicated in the drawing by the reference letter A and has tanks B and C. These tanks are usually formed by closing off a portion of the hull of the boat, as'by the bulkheads B, B and C. Each of these ballast tanks'has a suitable connection and. control valve, as indicated at B and C by which it may be put into communication with the water of flotation in the usual manner; and each of these tanks has valve controlled connections to a compressed air reservoir T whereby compressed air may be admitted to the tank ,to discharge the water contained therein.

The ordinary bow torpedo tube. is indicated at D, with a bow-cap E controlling the passage for the torpedo from the tube to the sea; and a spare torpedo is indicated by J:

the loading position in Fig. 1 and loaded within the torpedo tube in Fig. 2. For the purposes of the present invention the torpedo tube has a drain pipe d which may be put in open connection with the forward trimming tank B through valve d. .It is preferable, though not essential, to arrange the drain pipe cl as shown, so that it drains both ends of the torpedo tube.

The forward and aft trlmmlng tanks B and C are connected together by a piping connect-ion F through which water ma be passed from one tank to the other in either irection. This transfer of water'may be effected by varying the pressures in the two tanks by means of the-compressed air supply, but for the purposes of the present invention it is more advantageous to effect this transfer by means 'of a: pump G inserted in the piping connections, and this pump may conveniently be .of areversible rotary type,-

driven by alvariable speed motor,.. which is indicated in the drawing as an electric motor H. In order that the pump may-be cut out' of the system, if-for any reason it becomes desirable to transfer. thevwater by air pressure, there is provided a valved by-pass F and the valve F serves to shut-0E connection to the pump.- This transfer line F is 4 connected to the drain pipe at by means of a connecting pipe Q, controlled by valve Q,

' and there is interposed iii the transfer line F, between the connection- Q and the forward trimming tank B 9. etc valve R. The compressed air tank cated in any convenient positiornis in connectionwith th'etorpedo tube by pipe 7ccontrolled by valve is and having a ventcock in. forward trimming tank through ipe Z ha ving stop valve Z and vent-cock l and it is incommunication with the after trimming tank 0 through pipe m havingstop valve m and vent-cock m.

For the purposes of my present invention t ench is to be 10 Itis in communication with the i I preferably providean excess of ca acity in the trimming tank B so that it wil hold, not only the water required for'it-s, normal functions, but also a volume of water; at least equal' to the internal volume of the tube D, plus the volumedisplaced by torpedo J multiplied by the number of spare torpedoes which it is desired to 'fireand compensate for.

In the trimming tank C, I preferably rovide excess capacity sutlicient to holdat east a weightof water arrived at. as follows: weight of spare torpedoes to be loaded, multiplied by the distance moved forward dur- I ing the loading '0 erat-ion, divided by'the distance between t e centers of gravity of tanks B and C. i 1

With the ,vessel' thus nipped the compensating operation is pre erably carried on.

as follows: is acustomary to carry a terpedo within a torpedo tube, and spare tor pedoes on racks within'the boat. Ordinarily the space in thedischarge tube around the torpedo is filled with water when the vessels is trimmed forsubmergence In special cases, however, the torpedo may-be carried dry in the tube until a short time before it is desired to fire it. the tube around the torpedo is then filled with waterordinarily. from the tank B. In either case, when ready to fire a torpedo, the bow-cap E isopened, thus affording a passage for the torpedo from the tpbe to the sea. As the tube is already full of water, no change in the weight or center of gravity of the vessel occurs. l hen the torpedo is fired, the inrush of sea water completely fills the tube, the tube ordinarily being vented at that time by the vent-cock Z4. The bow-cap E is now turned to close the passage, and it Will be observed that, since the weight of the torpedo is almost exactly equal to the weight of the samejvolume of water, no change in the weight or position of the center of gravity of the vessel as a whole has resulted from the firing of the torpedo. The valve a? and vent-cock! are now opened and, the vent =70 being closed, compressed air is admitted from tank T through valve is to the tube, thus forcing the water in the tube into the forward triniming tank B. if, as illustrated and as is usually the case, the center of gravity of tank B does not coincide with that of tube 1);, this transfer of Water will produce an inclining moment, tending to cause the vesset to change trim. If the conditions as to Weight, stability, etc, are such as to make exact compensation desirable or necessary,

this is obtained by passing water from the tand B to the tank 0. Forexact compensation the weight of water discharged should equal the weight of water discharged from -the torpedo tube into the forward tank .B,

multiplied by the fore and aft distance between the centers'of gravity of the torpedo tube and tank B, and divided by the fore and aft distance between toe centers of gravity of tanks B and C. The preferred methodis, as I have said, to use a variable speed pump, and to drive the pump at low speed, passing the water through the trans fer line F, since by this method the compensating water is passed aft simultaneously with the emptying oft-he tube and may be so regulated as to produce any desired degree of fineness of compensation. Ifpreferred, however, the pressure in tube D may be used to transfer the water. In that case the pump is shut oil by the valve F and the bypass F is opened, as is also the valve Q passingatt may l e regulated to the proper The space in termined by experience in observing the gages with which the trimming tanks are equipped. After the tubeis empty the breech door may be opened and a spare torpcdo moved into the tube by any suitable means, the inclining moment thus pro duced being compensated by transferring the proper a'mountcf water from B to C through transfer line F, either by the pump G or by air pressure. For exact compensation the weight ot Water transferred should equal the weight of the torpedo, multiplied by the fore and aft distance through which is is moved, divided by the distance between the centers of gravity ofthe trimming tanks. The breech door of the tube is now closed. Then vent--cock is and drain valve (2 are opened, and compressed air is admitted to tank B through valve Z, thus forcing water from tank B into tube D so as to fill the space surrounding the torpedo. When this is done, vent 7c and valve (5' are closed. Exact compensation for the moment so pro duced may be obtained if desired by transferring a suitable weightof water from tank G to B through the transfer. pipe, or the proper proportion of the water which enters tube D may be dr'awn'from tank C by opening valve Q, and admitting air to C.

It should be stated that the complete operations above described will be necessary only where the conditions require complete and exact compensation. s In most modern instances, the wei ht of the boat com Jared for these movements, is omitted, the compensating operation being limited to the necessary transfer to compensate for the movement of torpedoesfromtheir storage places.

into the tube.

In the above discussion I have confined myself entirely to the use of the forward and. aft trimming tanks B and C for compensation purposes, since when these tanks in the extreme ends of the vessel are used,-

the amount of water transferred is reduced to a min -mum, It is, however, customary to locate amidship, a subniergence tank P, which nprmallyintended to be used for adjusting the amount of buoyance. This tank is provided with a valve controlled connecti'on'to the water of flotation, as indicated at P, and with a pipe connection as indicated at a to the compressed air reserproportion by the valve Q and be do l voir, connection'inciulling a stop valve n and vent-cock n". It is obviously possible to use the tank P in my'irnproved compensating arrangement, instead of the C TY v proportions, by regulating the opemn to va ve Q, as to avoid any disturbance o the trim and give exact compensation. It isobviously possible to thus pass the water from the tube D directly in roper proportions to the tank B andto eit er of the tanks 0 MP, the .valve Q bein properly adjusted.

The exibility of the arrangement and method constitutes'one of its great advantages, since use is made of a pliances and features commonly installed or other pur- "poses and the arran; ement is. such that the operator can produ e a proper degree of compensation to surlthe actual conditions 'the discharged tyrpedo,

existing-,

What I claim is:

l. The method of compensating for the discharge and movement of torpedoes in submarine or submersible boats equipped with forward and aft trimmingtanks, which method consists in admitting water to theto compensate for and subsequently transferring the water in the tube to the forward and aft trimming tanks in such torpedo tube from the sea proportions as to compensate for the move- 'ment of a spare torpedointo the torpedo tube; substantially as described.

- 2. The method of compensating for the discharge and movement of torpedoes in submarine or submersible boats equipped with forward and aft trimming tanks, which method consists in admitting water from the sea .to the torpedo tube to compensate for the discharged torpedo, subsequently transferring the admitted water to the adjacent trimming tank, and transferring a relatively small 'measured quantity of the water to the other trimming tank as a spare torpedo is moved into the torpedo tube, to compensate-for such movement of the spare torpedo; substantially as described.

3. The method of compensating for the discharge and movement of torpedoes in submarine or submersible boats equi p ed with forward and aft trimming tanks,w ich method consists in admitting water to the torpedoltube from the sea to compensate for the discharged torpedo, transferring the admitted water to the adjacent trimming tank and to the other trimming tank in such pro? portions that the center of gravity is not changed, and subsequently transferring a relatively small measured quantity of the water to the second trimming tank to compensate for the movement of the spare torpedo into the discharge tube; substantially as described.

4. A submarine or submersible boat equipped with 'reserve torpedoes and atoredo discharge-tube, in' combination with a orward trimming. tank in the bow of the boat, connections through which water admitted to the tube from the sea after the torpedo is discharged may be transferred to the forward trimming tank, a second tank aft of the center of gravity of the torpedo tube, and connections through which a portion of the water so admitted may be transferred to said tank to compensate for the forward movement of a spare torpedo into the tube.

5. A submarine or submersible boat equipped with reserve torpedoes, a torpedo discharge tube, and forward and aft trimming tanks in the bow and stern respectively, in combination with connections through which the water admitted to the tube from the. sea after the torpedo is discharged may be transferred to the adjacent trimming tank,

which a portion of the water so admitted and connections through may be transferred to the other trimming 4 tank to compensate for the movement of a spare torpedointo the discharge tube.

6. A submarine or submersible boat equipped withreserve torpedoes, a torpedo discharge tube, and'forward and aft trimming tanks in; the bow and stern respectively, in combination with connections through which the water admitted to the tube from the sea after the torpedo is discharged may be transferred to the adjacent trimming tank, and connections through which water may adjacent trimming tank to the other trimming tank to compensate for the movement of a spare torpedo into the discharge tube. 7. A submarine or submersible boat equipped with reserve torpedoes and a .torpedo discharge tube, in combination with a forward trimming tank in the bow of the boat. connections through which water admitted -to*the tube fromv the sea after the torpedo is discharged may be transferred to the forward tank aft of thecenterof gravity of the torpedo tube, and connections through which a portion of the water so admitted may be transferred to said tank to compensate for the forward movement of a spare torpedo intothe discharge tube, said connections including a controlled pump.

8. A submarine or submersible boat equipped with reserve I torpedoes, a torpedo be transferred from the trimming tank a second discharge tube, and forward and aft trim- "ming tanks inthe bow and stern respectively, in combination with connections through which the Water admitted to the tube from the sea as the torpedo is discharged may be transferred to the adjacent trimming tank, a transfer .line from the adjaeent trimming tank to the other trimming tank, through which water may be trans-' ferred to compensate for the movement of a spare torpedo into the discharge tube, and a branch connection between torpedo discharge tube and the transfer line. e

9. A submarine equipped with reserve torpedoes, a torpedo discharge tube, and forward and aft triniming tanks in the bow and stern respectively, in combination with connections through which the'water admitted to the tube from the sea asthe torpedo is discharged may be transferred to the adjacent trimming tank, a transfer line from the adjacent trimming tank to the other trimming tank, through which water may be transferred to compensate for the movement of a spare torpedo intothe discharge tube, a

branch connection between the-torpedo discharge tube and the transfer line, and a control valve for said connection.

10. A submarine or submersible boat equipped with reserve torpedoes and a torpedo discharge tube in combinationwith a or submersible boa forward trimming tank in the bow of the boat having an excess of capacity above that required for its normal functions equal to the internal volume of the discharge tube, plus the volume displaced by one of the reserve torpedoes inultip'lied by the number of such reserve torpedoes which it is desired to fire and compensate for, an aft trimming tank in the stern of the boat having an excess of capacity above that required for its to the aft trimming tank tocompensate for the forward movement of a spare torpedo into the torpedo discharge tube.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

LAWRENCE Y. SPEAR.

lVitnesses Trios. A. ARTHUR, F.'L. BRAKE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

